Tenth Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum - Summary and Analysis (Globalization and the Environment: Mobilizing Finance for Climate Change)

The tenth Special Session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GCSS-10/GMEF) took place from 20-22 February 2008, in the Principality of Monaco. Over 800 participants, including delegates from 138 countries, as well as representatives of UN agencies, international organizations, business and industry, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and women and youth organizations, attended the three-day gathering. Fifty-six of the 58 members of the Governing Council were represented. Delegates convened in plenary sessions, a Committee of the Whole (COW), and several contact and drafting groups to consider draft decisions. Ministerial consultations addressed the emerging policy issues of mobilizing finance to meet the climate challenge, and international environmental governance (IEG) and UN reform. The GC/GMEF concluded its work by adopting five decisions on: the UNEP Medium-term Strategy 2010-2013 (MTS); chemicals management, including mercury and waste management; the Global Environment Outlook (GEO); sustainable development of the Arctic region; and the International Decade for Combating Climate Change.

As delegates left the Grimaldi Forum conference centre on Friday evening, they expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of GCSS-10/GMEF, in particular the decision on the MTS that authorizes the Executive Director to use it in formulating the strategic frameworks and programmes of work of UNEP. The debates on the emerging policy issues were also welcomed, with many commenting that GCSS-10/GMEF conveyed a sense of urgency to find solutions for the climate change and IEG challenges.